Apparatus for and method of refrigeration



APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF REFRIGERATION Filed Oct. 15, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 17, 19

i-jum'rso STATES.- PATEN O F C enem es 'A. 11:031., or sr. Louis,missounr, ASSIGNOR To summers-Burma's I SUPAPLY 00., OF ST. LOUIS,MISSOURI, A. CORPORATION OF MISSOURI errmrus non AND METHOD or mniemrIoNApplication r;fl1ed0ctober 15, 1925. Serial No. 62,528.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for and'method ofrefrigeration,

and has for its primary object-an apparatus designed for use in displayor con- '5I' tainer refrigerators, which will not alone providerefrigeration for said refrigerator but will also automatically create acirculation of cold air therethrough.

A further object is to construct an appa-' 10 ratus for cooling adisplay container or 1:5 frigerator and 'simultaneolisly"supply thestored is eliminated or excessive loss due to absorption fromlsaidarticles by the air is prevented. i In the drawings:

' Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a display refrigerator orcontainer. with my apparatuslocated therein, and connected up ready foroperation;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental longitudinal vertical section showing a modifiedform of apparatus; 4

, Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section'of a display refrigerator.showing still another form. of apparatus;

1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

I. Fig. 5 is a modified form of-supply nozzle employed; r

In the construction of my device, I employ a display refrigerator orcontainer having a chilling chamber 6 and a display chamber 7.- Therefrigerator is provided L with a double bottom 8 on which rests acontainer 9. This container extends into. the display chamber and is-designed to be filled -with a non-freezing liquid, such as brine orsimilar substance. That portion of the container 9 within the display.chamber is provided with a. lid 10. Located on the lid 10 is insulatingmaterial 11, such as cork or the like.- This may cover the entirelid 10or may only partially cover it as illus-' trated in Fig. 1.

Separating the display and refrigerating chambers is a wall 12, thelower portion of which is provided with openings 13'. These openmgs areformed. by slitting the material and bending it outward as illustrated1n F1gs.'1, 2 and 3. The walljl2 is spaced apart from the top of therefrigerator so as to form a passageway 14, which will permit theclrculation' of airs Extending beneath the pan 9 and preferably betweenthe-two iwalls comprising the 'floor 8 is a pipe '15,-

its end L6 extending into the container 9.;

The opposite end of the pipe 15 is connected to a. pump 17, which may beeither of the rotary centrifugal or reciprocating t 'e. To the outlet ofthe pump 17v is a ipe I S,

which extends into the chilling chamber 6 and has secured on its end aspray nozzle 19. The pump 17 is driven by an electric motor 20, whichalsodrives a compressor 21 in which. the condenser constitutes thehousing, there being several refrigerating machines now on the marketwhich employ the housing or casing as a condenser and therefore theconstruction of the compressor will not be described in detail asthepeculiar construction thereof is not, essential to my device.Attached to the compressor is a refrigerating coil 22, which is locatedin the chilling chamber 6. The motor 21 is controlled by means of athermostat 23,

which is located at any convenient point ineitherthe chilling ordisplaychambers. By means of this thermostat the temperature within therefrigerator can be controlled. 1

It will be noted from Figs. 1, 2 and 3 that thee construction of theopenings through f I have shown a modified form of construction in whichthe refrigerating or expanding coil24is located within a container 25.This container is provided-with a cap 26,,

which closes a filling opening 27 so thatthe container can befilled witha non-freezing solution.- This non-freezing solution"- will entirelysurround the coil 24. In; Fig. 3 I have shown stillanother modified formof device in which the refrigerating or expanding coil 28 is located inthe container 9, thus leaving the chilling chamber 6 practicallyunobstructed and clear. ,The container 9 may be either the full width ofboth the display and chilling chambers, or it may be the full width ofthe chilling .chamber but have that portion, which extends into thedisplay chamber, reduced in width as illustrated in Fig. 4. Thisconstruction is optional and depends a great deal on the amount of re--frigeration desired for the particular refrigerator in which it is to beused. j

' The operation of my device is as follows: The container 9 is filledwith a non-freezing solution, such as brine or the like, and the properrefrigerant supplied to the compressor. The device is now ready foroperation."

The motor 21 is started and in sodoing the compressor 21 and pump 17placed in operation simultaneously. The compressor works in the usualway, forcing the refrigerant through the coils where it expandsand'chills the same. The pump being inoperation pumps the non-freezingsolution from the container 9 and .discharges it throu h the nozzle 19inthe form of a high spee very fine spray. .This spray strikes eitherthe coil in Fig. 1' or the container 25 in Fig; 2 and flows over thesame and cuts off all accumu lation of fiost, and at the same time, thespeed, at which this liquid rushes through the air, creates a suction inthe upper portion of the chilling chamber 6 and a compression in thelower portion. This com-, pression escapes through the openings andflows along the lower part of tlie display chamber while the upperportionor strata of air flows through the opening 14' into thechillingchamber, where it is driven downward, cooled by the coil and also by thecold non-freezing solution, and again passed into the display chamber.

The insulation 11 is placed on top of the lid 10 for the purpose ofpreventing the air within the display chamber from coming in contactwith the lid because on account of the excessive cold in the container9, any moisture in the air woul'd congeal on, the lid and form frost.This frost would in time act as an insulator and prevent the cold I fromreaching the box properly as well as making an extremely moist box. Itis also for thepurpose of removing frost that the spray is used becauseit is a well known fact among refrigerating engineers that a very heavyaccumulation of frost around refr1gerating pipes diminishes theirefliciency. In fact 'in packing houses it has been found necessary toinstall a double refrigeratin system and use one for a certain period 0time and then use the other, thereby allowing frost to be removed fromthe pipes whereas in smaller plants it is frequently necessary in orderto get suflicient refrigeration to have a man chop off the frost whichhas accumulated on the .pipes.

'My structure eliminates entirely all this accumulation of frost andconsequently the refrigerating plant is always up to its capacity inrefrigeration but, as before mentioned, the spray not alone keeps downand prevents this accumulation-of frost, but it also causes a rapidcirculation of cold air through the refrigerator and entirely elimi- Inates the siphon'systein now relied on in chilling refrigerators.

In Fig. 5 I have shownamodified type of nozzle in which the pipe 18is'connected to a cross :pipe129. From this pipe extend a plurality ofpipes 30, which are provided with perforationsthrough whichthenonfreezing solution forced at high speed in the form of a spray.

Another feature of my device is the circulation of they non-freezingliquid in the container 9, it being taken from one end and after beingchilled is returned to the opposite end of the container, therefore thisnonfreezing solution does not rise in temperature to any appreciableextent and by its circulatlon the entire refrigerator has the ,coldnon-freezingsolution pass from one end to the other, and therefore therefrigerator is cooled much more quickly and evenly throughout than ispossible where the nonfreezing solution is located in one end or in thecenter of' the container. Another important feature of my device is thatit can be placed anywhere within." a

building because no drain pipes are necessary. This has been found to bea great drawback because most stores at the present time are equippedwith concrete floors and the owners of the building object yery much tohaving holes for drain pipes punched through these floors. Furthermoreit frequently happens, especially in butcher shops, that there is nocellar below the store and cOnSequentIy nO drain-can be installed withsoconstructed as to operate between certain' I it may be desirable toplaceall of the oper-h ating mechanism withinthe refrigerator and againImay construct a refrigerator with a display chamber ,on each side of therefrigerating chamber or I may place a refrigerating chamber at each endof the display chamber without departing from the spirit of myinvention, .andI may again.

build a separate compartment to enclose the pump, motor and compressorand utilize the top surface of the compartment as a counter. All ofthese variations fall within the scope of my invention and, as beforementioned, I do not therefore desire to be limited to the preciseconstruction shown in the drawings;

the important features of my device being,

the circulation of the non-freezing solution, the artificial forcedcirculation of air, and

the prevention of frost accumulation onthe refrigeratin coil. Havingwhat I claim is:

1. -An apparatus for refrigeration comprising a refrigerator having a,chilling and a display chambenarrangedlside by side, said chamberscommunicating with each other at their top and bottom, a nondrain- I-ing container located beneath said chambers,

a nonfreezing solutionlocated in said container, a refrigerating coillocated in said chilling chamber, means adjacent the refrigerator forsupplying a refrigerant to saidcoil, and means for circulating'andforcibly spraying said nonfreezing solution downwardly over said coilwhereby the nonfreezing solution is cooled and air in the refrigeratordrawn from-the top of the display chamberinto the chilling chamber,cooled and discharged into the display chamber at its bottom by thenonfreezing solution.

2. An ap aratus for refrigeration comprising a re rigerator having achilllng and a storage chamber'arranged side by slde, a .vertical wallhaving passages therethrough adjacent its top and bottom located between'said chambers, a container located in the bottom of said refrigeratorand extending below said wall, a nonfreezing solution in said container,means for removing some of said solution from said container and forcingit, through the chilling chamber in a ace the compressor lly describedmy invention,

downwardly directed diverging spray whereb 1 air in the storage chamberis drawn from t e top thereof into thetop of the' chilling chamber,cooled by. the spray and returned to the storage chamber at its bottom,and means located in said chilling chamber forchilling-said solution asit is sprayed, said chilling means also providing additional cooling forthe circulating air.

3. An apparatus for refrigeration comprising a .refrigerator havin achilling chamber and a storage cham er adjacent and communicating witheach other at their top and bottom, a refrigerating coil located in saidchilling'chamber, a combined compressor and condenser connected to saidcoil, a container located In said refrigerator and below said chambers,a nonfreezing solution located in said container, a suction pipeconnected to said container at a point remote from said chillingchamber, a pump connected to said suction pipe, a discharge pipeconnected to said pump, a downwardly directed spray nozzleconnected tosaid discharge pipe and' located in the chilling chamber above saidcoil, means for operatmg said pump and compressor simultane-- ouslywhereby a portion of the nonfreezing solution is withdrawn from saidcontainer and 1s forcibly and downwardly sprayed over said" coil in thechilling chamber and returned to the, container, said spray adapted todraw air into the chillin chamher from the top of the storage cham erand discharge it into the'storage chamber at its bottom, said sprayedsolution and liquid being simultaneously chilled when passing saidrefrigerating coil, and means for preventing the spray-from entering thestorage chamber at its bottom.

4. A device of the class described comprising a refrigerator having achilling chamber and a storage chamber, a vertical wall having openingstherethrough at its top and bottom located between said chambers,a.refrigerating coil located in said chilling chamber, a combinedcompressor and condenser connected .to said coil, a container located inthe refrigerator and extending under said wall, a nonfreezing solutionlocated in said container, a suction pipe connected to said-container ata point remote from said chilling chamber, a pump connected to saidsuction pipe, a discharge pipe connected to said pump, a spray nozzlecarried by said discharge pipe and located within the chilling chamberabove said coil, means for operating said pump and compressorsimultaneously whereby the nonfreezing solution is withdrawn from thecontainer and forcibly sprayed downwardly 'into the chilling chamber ando ver the coil whereby said solution is chilled, said forcible sprayingcausing the air in the chilling chamber and in the storage chamber tocirculate and become cooled by contact with the air and therefrigerating coil, and means for placing the pump and compressor in andout of operation automatically as the tem- 5 perature in therefrigerator varies.

5. An apparatus or refrigeration comprising a display chamber, a brinereceptacle located beneath the display chamber and separated therefrom,a chilling chamber vertically disposed adjacent said display chamber andcommunicating with the display chamber at its upper and lower ends ancommunicating with said brine receptacle, means for forcibly dischargingcold liquid in said chilling chamber and comprising a conduit incommunication with the brine receptacle at a point remote from saidchilling chamber, a pump and a downwardly directed spray nozzle, and achilling coil located in said chilling chamber beneath and spaced apartfrom the spray nozzle and in the path of the descending spray issuingfrom said nozzle 1 6. In a device of the class described a containerhaving a display chamber, a chilling chamber adjacent one end of saiddisplay chamber, said chambers communicating with each other attheir topand bottom,

a nonfreezing solution container located beneath said chambers and opento the chilling chamber only, a nonfreezing solutionlocated in saidsolution container, a pump for withdrawing said solution from saidsolution container, a spray nozzle vertically disposed in said chillingchamber, a conduit connected to said pump and nozzle whereby solutionwithdrawn from the solution container is sprayed downwardly through thechilling chamber and returned to the solu- 0 tion container, said sprayadapted to draw air from the top of the display chamber into thechilling chamber and discharge it therefrom into the bottom of thedisplay cham ber, and'a, refrigerating coil located within 15 thechilling chamber in the path of said spray whereby said spray and theai-rcir-, culated thereby are simultaneously chilled. I 7. Thecombination with a cooling chamber, of means for retaining a pool ofcooled secondary refrigerant'in said chamber pipe coils for a primaryrefrigerant in said chamber, and means for withdrawing said cooledsecondary refrigerant from said pool and spraying it into contact withthe air in said chamber and then into contact with said .coils. I

'In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature; 0 CHARLES A, KOHL. I

